Fashionpedia

Karl Lagerfeld

"I've survived quite a few generations. That's because I never lost my enthusiasm. I wake up every morning like on Christmas."

We might all wake up with that same level of enthusiasm if we had the past present and future of King Karl. Lagerfeld's esteemed fashion history includes beginning at the well-known fashion houses of Balmain and Patou, followed by leading the debut of Rome-Tiziani. Fans of this line during the Lagerfeld years included Elizabeth Taylor, Gina Lollobrigida, Doris Duke and Principessa Borghese. He's had a hand in the lines of Chloe, Cureil and Fendi in the 1960s and 1970s. Additionally, he was also maintaining a design contract with the Japanese firm Isetan, to create collections for both men and women through 30 licenses; had a lingerie line in the US, produced by Eve Stillmann; was designing shoes for Charles Jourdan, sweaters for Ballantyne, and worked with Trevira as a fashion adviser.

During his reign at the House of Chanel, Lagerfeld has led Chanel to what is estimated a well over $400 million annual sales level – a significant sum for a privately-owned company. Apart from Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld still designs fur coats for Fendi, under his eponymously named label. He was the subject of a reality show "Signé Chanel" in 2005. The show covered the creation of his Fall/Winter 2004–2005 Chanel couture collection. (It aired on Sundance Channel in the United States during the fall of 2006.) In late 2006, Lagerfeld announced the launch of a new collection for men and women dubbed K Karl Lagerfeld. The collection included fitted T-shirts and a wide range of jeans.

Karl Lagerfeld does not limit himself to designing couture clothes however, in 2004 he agreed to an extremely limited partnership with H&M -- the Lagerfeld line for H&M was the fastest selling of any such partnership.

He has also designed for the stage and for musicians. Through the 1970s, Lagerfeld worked as a costume designer for theatrical productions. He collaborated with Italian director Luca Ronconi, and designed for theatres like La Scala in Milan (Les Troyens by Hector Berlioz, 1980), the Burgtheater in Vienna (Komödie der Verführung by Arthur Schnitzler 1980), and the Salzburg Festival (Der Schwierige by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, 1990). Lagerfeld also designed the costumes for the Carmen sequences in the 2002 film Callas Forever. He designed some outfits for Madonna's Re-Invention tour and also for Kylie Minogue's Showgirl tour.

Lagerfeld is also a photographer. He has shot many of the Chanel ad campaigns himself. He produced Visionaire 23: The Emperor's New Clothes, a series of nude pictures of South African model David Miller. He also personally photographed Mariah Carey for the cover of V magazine in, 2005.

Interestingly, Karl Lagerfeld already owns a piece of the Dubai pie. He has agreed to an exclusive collaboration with Dubai Infinity Holdings to design limited edition homes on Isla Moda, the world’s first dedicated fashion island, set in the iconic development, The World.

Life Facts:
A true fashion icon, Karl Lagerfeld's person is recognizable to all and has even been replicated in a limited edition teddy bear, including the ever present sunglasses, black glasses and white tie. A tremendous music fan, Lagerfeld owns 100s of ipods, keeping them in homes and apartments all over the world so he has music where ever he goes. Wouldn't you wake up like every day was Christmas?